The present invention is directed to a cutting blade that can be utilized for leveling a surface composed of a plurality of flexible members oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface such as an area of lawn composed of a plurality of grass blades. The present invention can be utilized with reel-type lawn mowers and is particularly well suited for use as an original equipment blade or as a replacement for a conventional rotary lawnmower blade.
Conventional lawn mower blades comprise a metal bar having a hole at its center for mounting to a powered shaft and a section along the leading edge of each tip sharpened to a sharp knife-like low angle cutting edge typically by a grinding operation. Conventional blades are susceptible to wear and damage particularly in a commercial setting where conventional blades may need resharpening as much as twice per day. The cutting edges of the conventional blade can be resharpened, but requires the nuisance and downtime of operation for removing the blade with tools and requires readily available access to a somewhat expensive grinder for sharpening the blade. Also, a conventional blade can only be resharpened a limited number of times before it must be discarded due to its reduced dimensions from repeated sharpening resulting in decreasing structural strength of the bar at its tips eventually leading to a dangerous condition if further used. The blade of the present invention appears to demonstrate superior durability and maintenance of a sharp cutting edge as compared with conventional blades. Also, the blade of the present invention provides a substantial increase in operational safety over conventional blades, since the leading edges of the tips of the blade according to some embodiments of the present invention are substantially blunt as compared to knife-like leading edges at the tips of conventional blades. This feature would substantially reduce the extent of injury to a person who accidentally comes into contact with the blade during operation.
The blade of the present invention can also be utilized with trimming machines for cutting weeds, underbrush, and other foliage.